Looking for travel trailers WITHOUT dinettes? I can’t say I blame you. I almost never use my dinette except as a catch-all for clutter while at the campsite. If I intended to keep this trailer I would be seriously thinking of a smart way to remove it.
For some people, the RV’s dinette is going to be essential, but not for everyone. If you, like me, are in the “I’d rather have more floor space than a dinette” category, Mike and Susan from RV Blogger have produced a video highlighting three of their favorite small travel trailers without dinettes.
Let’s look at the trailers without dinettes Mike and Susan recommend.
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Starcraft Super Lite Maxx 16FBS
UVW: 3,795 lbs.
GVWR: 4,995 lbs.
Length: 20’
Sleeps: 4
MSRP: starting at $31,568
Because there is no dinette, this trailer seems far more open than most others of its size. The long jackknife sofa in the slide room does triple duty as living seating, dining seating, and extra sleeping space.
I love the tasteful residential-style interior décor on this one.
I also really like the fridge location next to the door, making it easy to grab food from inside or outside the trailer. The fridge and freezer are also larger than in most small RVs. And as I prefer a gas/electric fridge over the 12-volt fridges we are seeing in so many new RVs these days, this is another big plus. It may or may not matter to you.
On the downside, they could have added more shelves or even pullout shelves to the pantry. As it stands now, you will probably want to modify the shelves in here.
Mike also did not like where the kitchen outlet was located (on the underside of a cabinet) and the fact that the sink is so small.
As there is no dinette, the trailer comes with a folding freestanding table. This is a little too short for the space, in Mike’s opinion—certainly too small for more than two people.
Mike does not like the shower curtain in the bathroom and wishes the trailer had a glass door. To each their own, and I wholeheartedly disagree. Give me a lightweight shower curtain over heavy glass shower doors any day!
I did not see any hanging closets, which is a personal deal breaker for me.
That said, this rig has some nice features, including:
- 8-cubic-foot gas/electric fridge inside
- Exterior refrigerator
- Large corner dry bathroom with large corner shower with 6’4” headroom
- Convection microwave oven
- 2-burner stove
- Stealth behind-the-TV storage
- Full-sized bed
- Pass-through storage
Coachmen Catalina Expedition 192FQS
UVW: 4,008 lbs.
GVWR: 5,040 lbs.
Length: 21’8”
Sleeps: 4
MSRP: starting at $39,906
The basic floor plan of this one is almost identical to the Starcraft Super Lite Maxx. That said, the Coachmen Catalina Expedition 192FQS has a few features that make it unique.
This one has a 12-volt fridge so if that is your preference, this rig has you covered. It has a huge amount of kitchen counter and food prep space, especially considering its small size.
The sink in this one is small too, unfortunately. And the shower is not very tall, so if you are over 6’1” forget about it.
Forest River Salem 22RBS
UVW: 5,928 lbs.
GVWR: 7.765 lbs.
Length: 26’11”
Sleeps: 4
MSRP: starting at $24,021
This has a different floor plan with a HUGE bathroom at the rear of the trailer near the entrance door.
In the center is a larger open living space. Inside, this trailer just feels larger than its 26 feet. I especially liked the feel of privacy in the master bedroom in the front of the trailer.
The sofa, which doubles as a dining seating, is contained in a slide room along with the oversized refrigerator. This sofa area also converts to a LARGE bed, comfortable for even tall adults.
On the downside, because it’s in a slide, there are no charging ports around the sofa.
The L-shaped counter in the kitchen gives you lots of food prep space.
One ingenious feature I have not seen before is a built-it mesh-sided laundry shoot in a bedroom cabinet. Dirty clothes go in and are deposited in the outside storage compartment until laundry day.
Some other nice features include:
- A north/south king-sized bed
- Three hanging wardrobe closets: two in the bedroom and one in the bathroom
- A huge pantry closet
- Fireplace
- 3-burner stove
- Large double sink
- Oven
- 12-volt refrigerator/freezer
- Short queen-sized bed
- Lots of underbed storage
As you can see from these three examples, foregoing a built-in dinette can have its advantages. Which is your favorite?
##RVT1109b
It’s a laundry chute!!
I actually liked the third trailer best, mainly because it has a queen north/south bed. The kitchen sink is more to my liking, as is the stove. Dual axle also is a plus. Our first trailer was a 25′ Nash with no slide (1997) and we got along just fine in it for 16 years. But it DID have a dinette like all trailers did back then (far as I know). The first two trailers were just too small for our needs.
Our 2016 open range has a rolling cabinet that has a lot of storage . It also has fold up leaves that turn it into a quite large table. It came with a couple oak folding chairs that we deleted. With opposing slides the living/kitchen is quite spacious.
We had an early version of the Rockwood Mini Lite 2109S that was similar to the Coachman 192FQS. Same length, but 200# lighter and had a N-S queen bed. We towed it 27,000 miles, including an Alaska Highway trip!
The Forest River NoBo 19.2 didn’t have a dinette until the 2023 model (my 2022 doesn’t have a dinette- it has two euro recliners and a collapsible table that can sit between them. )
In a small trailer, a fixed dinette eats way too much space and weight to be useful., IMHO.